THE Carlbury Nurseries Garden Centre at Piercebridge, County Durham, has been sold to leading garden and agricultural suppliers Sam Turner & Sons, of Northallerton.
The 2.4-acre nursery, incorporating a showroom, glass houses and shop, has been sold on behalf of owner Mark Rennison, by North East Chartered Surveyors and Property Consultants Carver Commercial, of Darlington.
Carlbury Nurseries has been developed recently to incorporate the sale of garden furniture in addition to plants, pots and other garden centre retail products.
Julie Wallin, Director of Carver Commercial, said: “The business has been developed by the previous family owners over the past five years and offers terrific potential to Sam Turner’s, whose reputation for quality and service is unsurpassed.
“We were able to use our experience and knowledge of the commercial sector to bring together the vendor and buyer for a very successful outcome that guarantees the jobs of those employed in the garden centre and offers exciting prospects for further development.”
Mr Rennison, who also owns the security fencing company Rennyco, of Wessoe Road, Darlington, said: “We are very pleased to be selling on the garden centre to a highly reputable company that will be able to take it to the next stage. Carver Commercial did an excellent job in marketing the property and it was Julie Wallin herself who introduced Sam Turner’s to us.”
Charlie Turner, Director of Sam Turner & Sons, said: “Carlbury Nurseries occupies a super site between the towns of Darlington and Barnard Castle. It is also ideally placed to serve the rural villages and communities of South Durham and North Yorkshire.
“We plan to run the nursery very much as it is, pending some redevelopment. We will be expanding the range of products and introducing a larger range of water garden products, as well as developing the café. The existing staff will be retained, so it is very much business as usual.”
Sam Turner’s, which owns a large clothing, gardening and farming supplies centre at Darlington Road, Northallerton, also has an agricultural machinery outlet at Stokesley.
The firm celebrates its 80 anniversary this year, having been founded in 1931 by Sam Turner, who left the family firm of Charles Turner to set up his own business in Eston, near Middlesbrough. He relocated to Northallerton during the Second World War in order to base his agricultural business in a market town during petrol shortages. Today, the firm continues to be run by Sam Turner’s great grandsons, Charlie, Michael and John, and great great grandson, Sam.
Charlie said: “We are proud to have retained our family ownership of the business for 80 years and would like to pay tribute to the family who previously owned Carlbury Nurseries. They have created a very nice garden centre that already embraces our commitment to offering quality, excellent service and value for money.”